BOSTON – The Boston Marathon is finally paying runners who earned prize money after other runners who finished ahead of them were later disqualified for doping.
The Boston Athletic Association (BAA), which oversees the race, announced Tuesday that it will make “voluntary payments” on Tuesday to all runners “negatively affected by doping violations at BAA events.”
Boston Marathon 2014
The BAA began offering prize money for the Boston Marathon in 1986. That was the most striking case 2014 Boston Marathon winner Buzunesh Deba.
Deba will now receive $103,000 from the BAA. She will receive $75,000 for rising from second to first in 2014, in addition to a $25,000 bonus for setting the course record and another $3,000 for rising from seventh to sixth in the 2016 race.
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Rita Jeptoo won the race that year and Deba finished second. But two years later the BAA took over Jeptoo’s title due to doping. Deba not only became the official winner of the 2014 Boston Marathon, but she also became the official course record holder with her time of 2 hours, 19 minutes and 59 seconds.
Yet she has never received the extra prize money until now. That’s because the BAA has been trying for years to get back the $100,000 they gave to Jeptoo.
Back in Maya Boston Marathon fan decided he would pay Deba $75,000 out of his own pocket. She told the Wall Street Journal that money was “life-changing.”
Now she has even more to add.
Boston Marathon Payments
Other runners receiving checks from the BAA include Marblehead native Shalane Flanagan and 2018 Boston Marathon champion Des Linden. Flanagan will receive $6,000 in back payments, while Linden will receive $3,200.
“We support athletes who competed in our events and believed they would be rewarded for their top placing,” BAA CEO Jack Fleming said in a statement. “We do what we can to ensure fair competition between athletes, and we will always strive to host the fairest playing fields at all our events.”
The BAA said it is “identifying and contacting athletes whose results have been reranked.” Any runner who may qualify can find more information about the process on the BAA website.
